The financing was arranged for Century 21 by Thomas Didio, senior managing director of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP's Edison, NJ office. The funding was placed with a life insurance company, which provided a 20-year fixed-rate package at what Didio terms "a very desirable interest rate." No further details of the financing were provided.

"I am pleased to have assisted Century 21 Construction in achieving its objectives in this transaction," Didio continues. "It is a quality organization, which made this assignment easier to complete successfully."

For Lowe's, the new store is part of the Wilkesboro, NC-based retailer's ongoing aggressive expansion plan that has it opening a new store somewhere in the country on an average of one every three days. The Marlboro, NJ store, which opened in January, reflects the company's prototype unit, which encompasses a sales floor of approximately 121,000 combined with a 30,000-sf lawn and garden center.

Lowe's expansion effort has been focused on major metro areas, including the New York/New Jersey region. The latest opening follows the ribbon-cutting, late last year, of a similarly-sized store less than 10 miles to the south in Holmdel, NJ, also in Monmouth County. According to company officials, the newest unit's early numbers indicate that it will be one of its best-performing stores in the state.